Stars of the Void
by Sigma-del-Prisium
Summary: It is set years after Louise failed at the Summoning Ceremony. Now, she is given an opportunity to try a ritual to summon her familiar. She know that if she succeeded, it will change her life. Unknowingly, what she summoned will be a catalyst to an even greater change that will turn the world upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The sun shines upon the land as it rises from the eastern horizon, heralding the dawn of a new day. Warm golden light greets the farmers, had just woken up to begin working on the fields, and guards, who stayed vigilant since the night. In the middle of an open field, the citadel that is the Tristain Academy of Magic gleamed under the morning sun as sunlight reflected off the smooth stones that made up the towers and walls.

Outside the academy walls is the small town of Amiens located near the academy. Amiens was founded after the expansion of the academy to accommodate new facilities, and served primarily to provide accommodations for various academy staff and personnel. The town has grown over the years and is now a thriving hub that benefited the academy greatly. As the sun continues to rise, the denizens of the academy and the town starts to arise from their slumber.

* * *

Louise starts stirring under the blanket as she felt the warm sunlight radiating on to her. She groans lightly while pulling the blanket off her face. She then blinks her eyes before rubbing the sand off her eyes. She then sits up from her bed revealing her long strawberry blond hair before yawning. She pulls the blanket off her and sets it aside before getting off the bed.

She wore a long white nightgown reaching down to her knees. She has slim figure which fits perfectly with her small breasts and posterior. Her wavy strawberry blonde hair is long enough to reach down to her waists and covered her entire back. While she isn't what most would see as alluring but she does have a nice figure which she gained after adolescence.

She stretches out her arms upward to remove some tension off her body before walking towards the washstand, beside the nightstand, where a basin bowl and a pitcher made of white porcelain. She removes the lid off the pitcher and then poured clean water into the bowl before setting it aside. She then washes her face for less than a minute before wiping her face off with a towel hanging by the washstand. She places the towel down after she's done and heads towards her dresser before sitting down by the chair.

She took a few moments of checking herself on the mirror before grabbing for the hairbrush and start combing her hair. She looked to her left to check the calendar and then frowned as she saw what the date it is, or rather the date next to it. The dreaded time of the year that has the power to seal one's fate and their future.

The Day of Spring Summoning Ceremony.

_Uuughh!_ Louise mentally groaned. She completely forgot about this particular day but through it would be have been better if she didn't. She sighed as she had decided it's not worth to brood over it now. It's been a few years since that dreadful day, and things had gone better after becoming a fully pledged Rune Arcanist.

She slumped into the chair as she contemplated her life. She looked around the condominium unit which she had acquired with the salary she earned from her work at the academy and from her commissions. It's a bit smaller than her own room back home but it's all hers an added benefit that the building has its own housekeeping services. She made a good living and got herself some few luxuries she wanted. She sighed as she can't do anything about it anymore. She checked the pendulum clock hanging on the wall to her right and saw that she got less than two hours before work. She got off her chair and began preparing for the day, starting with taking a bath.

_Later_

Louise finished buttoning up her top while standing front of the dresser mirror. She wore a lavender dress shirt and black knee-long skirt which matches her slim figure. She checked her reflection for a few moments and then nodded, satisfied with her looks. She then checked her room, having fixed it up earlier, to see if she missed anything. Seeing none, she took her violet robe off the coat rack and wore it over her before leaving through the door.

She entered the hallway upon exiting her unit and then locked the door behind her. The hallway has light cream walls lined with doors, such as hers, and sunstone lamps, providing light, and smooth stone flooring. It has some elegance to it, despite its utilitarian design, but it's pleasing enough to the eye. She greeted the some of the other owners along the way as she headed towards the staircase. It took her few short minutes to go down to the ground floor and into the main lobby. She quickly exited the building through the double door that is the main entrance and into the main street.

The street is already busy even this early. The horses-drawn carriages, carrying cargo and passengers, are already moving on both lanes of the street, and pedestrians moving along the sidewalks on both sides. Louise turned to her left and saw the tall towers of the Academy rising above the roofs. She straightened her coat and then started walking towards the Academy.

* * *

**Tristain Academy of Magic**

_It's about to be that time of the year again._ Professor Colbert thought as he looked around his personal laboratory.

The lab is around the size of an ordinary house, made of smooth stones, and wide open inside. His personal office built into one corner while the rest of the space is occupied by various tools and machines. It's not as big and expansive as the main laboratories built outside the Academy walls along with other short block buildings. They were relatively new addition to the Academy proper and very young when compared to the Academy's main towers and walls, less than a generation ago.

The new expansion was designed to accommodate the development of magic and industry, and regulate them for safe and sustainable development which would then benefit the kingdom as a whole. But so far the new office of the Academy made very few advancements in magic, and mostly enforced regulations on industrial development. This saddened him as he saw the new office wasting away opportunities, and he tried to change that, with little success.

Colbert heard a knock on the main doorway, he turned to see Louise opening the door into the lab and greeted her.

"Good morning, Miss Valliere."

"Good morning, Professor." Louise greeted bit solemnly, quickly alerting Colbert.

"Is everything alright?" Colbert asked a bit concerned for her. Louise quickly shook her head and replied.

"No. No… I'm alright, Professor." Louse sighed a bit before composing herself. "What project would we be working on today, Professor?" She asked as she looked around the laboratory.

There are a number of worktables with trinkets over them around the lab floor where the professor's various projects are set. She then spotted one worktable where a box with cylinders that burns oil which. She assisted the professor on that one primarily in making the proper enchantments to support the flames inside. She didn't see much value on that machine since the Thaumic Motor works better and less dangerous, not to mention less loud.

"None for today, Miss Valliere." The professor told her. "And I will be working with Mr. Konstantin tonight on another project."

"Oh." Louise simply uttered, her mood plummeted. "I suppose I can work back on my research and get some work done back in my own office." Louise decided.

"Oh! Before I forgot." Colbert suddenly said. "The Headmaster told me to tell you for you to meet him in his office."

Louise perked at that and speculated what the Headmaster wanted with her. "Did he say what it is for?"

"No, he didn't." Colbert shook his head. "He said that he will only tell it to you directly and it's important."

"I see." Louise replied with a nod. "Should I help with your research again later, Professor?"

Colbert shook his head. "No need for that, Miss Valliere. I'll be mostly doing calculations and theorizing later."

"Thank you, Professor. I'll see you tomorrow then." Louise thanked him to which Colbert nodded back. She then exited laboratory through the door she entered earlier. As soon as she left, Colbert headed for the _furnace engine_ that Louise took notice earlier and started tinkering with it.

* * *

Louise passed through the Vestry Gate and nodded to the two Academy guards in their posts. The Vestry Courtyard is already filled with a class of students who are enjoying their time interacting with their familiars. She felt her heart grow heavy as her memory of that day threatened to rear its head, and quickly shook her head to remove it out of her thoughts. She looked away and quickly walked into the main tower before someone else sees her.

But a certain pair derailed Louise's attempt of invisibility.

"_Hellooo..!"_ Louise flinched as heard someone greeting her in a singsong, and it comes from the most irritating person she had ever met. She looked behind her and saw Kirche and Tabitha walking up to her.

"What are you two doing here?" Louise nearly shouted in alarm. She hasn't seen the pair in years, nor any of her former classmates after they all graduated from the Academy. Now, of all time, SHE suddenly made her presence. _I don't have time for this!_ She mentally shouted.

Kirche wore tight-fitting fiery red single-piece dress with her cleavage showing and side slits extending up to her thighs, and a velvet coat all over. She

"Why? Can't we visit our alma matter from time to time?" Kirche replied as she placed one hand on her hips and smiled a little. Beside her, Tabitha continued reading a book as usual and ignoring her red headed friend.

"If it's Tabitha, I can understand." Louise gestured at Tabitha who continued reading. "But you?" She bemoaned as she pointed at Kirche. "You're likely here to play your little games here!"

"Oh?" Kirche raised an eyebrow at Louise's comment. "Why Louise… You wound me for thinking such of my noble intentions." She replied with mock pain.

"Louise's right." Tabitha flatly told her as she flipped a page. Kirche irked at Tabitha's jab at her.

"Oh well. You got me… My _alluring_ plans are foiled…" Kirche said while acting sorrowfully as she placed the back of her hand over her head and posed sensually with her one of her legs exposed and her breasts prominent poised. The boys, attracted to Kirche's theatrics, at a short distance from the trio _ooooh _-ed and drooling at Kirche's figure.

"Uuugghh!" Louise groaned loudly as she threw her hands up in the air in surrender. She hurriedly entered the main tower while grumbling something about intolerable succubus.

Kirche, now standing normally, watched Louise entered the main door, wondering what to do with her. She looked at Tabitha and asked. "Should we follow her?"

Tabitha lightly shrugged at Kirche's question without looking up from her book and then flipped a page.

"Ok! Let's go see what little Louise is up to!" Kirche happily said as she ran into the main tower, much to the despair of boys. Tabitha calmly followed the red head into the tower.

* * *

**Headmaster's Office**

Headmaster Osmond is enjoying the peace and quiet in his office while watching the view through the expansive window behind his office table with his favorite pipe clutched in his right hand. He sucks in from the pipe before slowly blowing the tobacco smoke out into the air. He let the smooth sensation flow through him and helps him relax. He suddenly feels his pipe tugging in his hand for a few moments before breaking free and floats away from him. He strokes his long white beard as he calmly addresses the person responsible.

"You know, Miss Longueville. It's cruel to deny an old man his few pleasures in life especially someone my age."

The pipe floats towards the other table in the room and lands on one side. Sitting behind it, Miss Longueville, the Headmaster's secretary, puts her wand back in its holster on her waist. She picks up her quill and return to writing on the paper as she replies.

"It's also my job to look after your health, Headmaster. Especially for someone _your_ age."

"Oh so cruel." Osmond mumbled in defeat as he turned his seat around to face his large finely carved office desk. There are no papers that needed his attention. _Thank Brimir for that._ There are only a few trinkets on it like a short sunstone lamp on the right side, a journal, his ink and quill, and a small elegant clock.

_So much has changed._ He thought as he recalled when the expansion to the academy is still being planned out and its purpose. He remembered when the Amiens was merely a collection of small buildings and dormitories surrounded by its own wall. He remembered many things before this _industrial dawn_ happened. No one even noticed it until it's already there. _I'm getting too old for this. A man living in the past._ He thought solemnly.

He then felt something clutching his long gray robe. He looked down and smiled as saw his white mouse familiar climbing up his robe before it finally settles on his shoulder.

"Ah! Motsognir!" Osmond happily greeted his familiar. He then quietly asked the mouse. "How's your quest?"

The mouse started speaking in a series of squeaks and chirps as it relayed its findings to its master. Osmond gleefully remembered every detail.

"Ooohh… Miss Longueville wears white today." Osmond commented not as quietly as he fished out a small piece of cheese. He then gave it to Motsognir who then eagerly accepted and started munching its sweet reward.

Miss Longueville on the other hand was both startled and embarrassed as the mouse got a peek under her skirt, and quickly closed her legs very tightly. She angrily glared at the old man who acted that he didn't see the burning look she is directly at him.

"But black definitely looks better on her. Am I right, Motsognir?" Osmond happily stated with the white mouse nodding its little head. This comment promptly made Longueville to erupt in fury which made the older man flinch in fear. The green-headed secretary was about to enact her fury when they heard someone knocking. The two, three if counting Motsognir, composed themselves before Osmond called out.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Louise poked her head through the opening. "You asked for my presence, Headmaster?" Louise then asked.

Osmond quickly recalled why he called Louise to his office for and immediately motioned for her to enter. "Yes I did, Miss Valliere. I have an important news for you."

Louise perked at that statement and nodded. She entered the office and then closed the door behind her. Osmond gestured to the one of the two seats set before his table. Louise quickly sat on the offered table and waited for his news.

"A colleague of mine heard about your… dilemma. For that, he had sent a gift for you." Osmond told her as he retrieved a scroll, enclosed in a wooden tube, from one of the drawers of his desk. He then smiled as he placed the tome on the table. "This here is a special ritual and its instructions that allows a person to summon a familiar."

"What? But I failed to summon _anything_ from any of my attempts." Louise said, doubtful that the tome would be of any help. She had performed the summoning ritual, albeit outside of the Academy and Amiens, but all resulted in explosions.

"True, but this ritual is much more elaborate and required specific runes to perform the summoning." Osmond replied as he pushed the scroll closer to Louise. "He said that this ritual will allow a mage to summon beings from further reaches. You did heard news of other houses summoning interesting trinkets?"

Louise nodded at that as she did heard a few instances about those strange things some mages summoned in their attempts.

"This is a similar thing but re-designed and specialized for familiar summoning, and best of all, the design can be adjusted to the user's specifics as long as the core remains the same." Osmond continued. "I want you to study the ritual and see what you can add to this. After that, you can perform it at the familiar summoning tomorrow once the students finished their turn."

Louise looks at the scroll and contemplates about the offer. She had already given up on summoning a familiar since her last attempt, while working to be a Rune Arcanist. But this is a gift from someone who wanted to help her, and she has nothing to lose at this point. She picks up the scroll, finding it a bit heavy, and places it on her lap.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I'll study this as soon as I can. And please give my thanks to this colleague of yours." Louise gratefully said.

Osmond nodded and replied. "I will, Miss Louise. Now go, and work on this. I have great hope that this will go in your favor."

Louise nodded and thanked him again. She stood up and proceeded to leave the office, leaving the headmaster and the secretary alone again.

"Do you think she will succeed?" Miss Longueville asked Osmond, concerned about Louise.

"I do hope so. I've studied the contents of the scroll before giving it to Miss Valliere." Osmond replied as he recalled the rather expansive content of the scroll. It contained wholly different way of summoning which baffled even him, as expected of his friend. "Miss Valliere is a protégé and I have no doubt she will be adding a few adjustments to the ritual. She's the best in her field, and can potentially be a powerful mage in addition to her mastery of runes."

"Well… Hope for the best I guess." Miss Longueville commented and then returned to the documents she is working on.

* * *

Louise stands in the corridor outside the Headmaster's office, clutching the scroll in her arms, and trembles as conflicting emotions rages within her. She should be happy that she is given an opportunity to finally be free of the weight she had been carrying, but she is afraid of the consequences if it too, like the others, failed.

She forced herself to calm down and steeled herself as she cleared her thoughts.

_I will not waste this opportunity. And I will not wallow in fear for something that has long passed._ Louise mentally said to herself. She then walked towards the staircase with the library being her first destination for the day, unaware of the two figures watching her descending fire while hiding by the wall behind her.

[A/N]

As you can see, this chapter is mostly to build up this alternate universe I've made and not much happening here. I've set Halkeginia in what can be described as during the dawn of the Industrial Age. When the tools and machines are still being made that will pave way to our own IRL Industrial Revolution. I do hope you all like what I have here.

I'm open to suggestions for the story and what changes to the canon events, or others, you have in mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

It was around early afternoon when Louise entered her condominium unit along with the wooden scroll cylinder, strapped over her right shoulder. She had left the Academy early as she didn't have much pressing matters to do and gave her more time to look into the scroll the Headmaster had given her.

She removed the scroll off her shoulder and placed it on her room's main table. She then headed into her open kitchenette, located along the right wall before the enclosed bathroom, and took out a glass pitcher of water out of the icebox. She placed the pitcher on the small counter beside the icebox and grabbed a glass nearby before filling it with cool liquid. She then drank the glass of water and savored the soothing water as she emptied the glass. She gave a satisfied sigh before setting the glass aside and putting the pitcher back into the icebox.

She headed back towards the circular table and then sat on one of the two chairs next to it before pulling the scroll cylinder towards her. She began flipping off the three locks running along the seam before flipping off the cover. Inside, she saw a thick roll of paper with wooden bar attached at the end. She then grabbed hold of the handle and started pulling it along with the length of scroll. On it is an array of columns of text along with various figures which are quite new to her. She first read the title of the scroll she had been given.

_THE MYSTERIES OF THE GREAT BEYOND_

Louise thought the title being quite odd and quite vague. It doesn't look promising if it will really help her with her summoning attempt. She continued reading the document to see what it can offer.

_The Great Beyond bears many mysteries that we haven't even began to unravel. It held many wonders that had captivated men since ancient times. The vastness of creation presented before us in full majesty of its magnificence. But we are too blind to see what they all represented. _

_It is my belief that by studying the Great Beyond and discovering its secrets, we can understand more about our world and unlock more potential in the arcane. Our current understanding of it is very rudimentary and we have yet to learn the basics of celestial mechanics. So I've written various discoveries I've found in my research and their possible applications in magic._

Louise is quite intrigued in what the scroll has to offer as she continued reading and is now certainly interested what she could learn from it. Even if she can't find anything useful for the familiar summoning, it should give her more material for her other works. She finished reading the introduction and pulled more of the scroll to read the rest of its contents. She became even more intrigued

Over the course of hours as Louise shifted through the scroll, she had worked over the arcane formula and the array patterns she would be needing for the summoning ritual. She found her work quite bizarre, as is the contents of the scroll, while she strived to complete it. Her dinner is delivered to her room by one of the building's maids and had eaten it quickly without much thought.

The night sky had already settled in when she finally finished it with an exhausted sigh. She placed aside the quill and ink aside before slumping into the chair. On the table is a large parchment with the finished drawing of the completed summoning array and smaller parchments with drawings of bigger versions of the figures and symbols to be drawn on the array.

Louise stifled a yawn as she stretched out her arms and back to remove the stiffness after long hours of sitting. She looked at the pendulum clock hanging by the wall and saw it's over an hour before midnight. She shook her head as she realized how much the making of the array had taxed her, and how long it took. She then sat up from her chair and began to prepare for the night for she will have a big day tomorrow.

* * *

It is late afternoon when Louise started preparing the summoning array as she draw out the necessary runic patterns at various points on it. She had already informed Professor Colbert and Headmaster Osmond about the finished array and was cleared to perform the ritual after the rest of the second year classes had finished the summoning ceremony.

She soon finished the array that is drawn onto the smooth stone platform using an infused white chalk. The array is composed of a star pentagram inside a pentagon with their respective vertices connected to each other by single lines, and wholly enclosed by a thick ring. Small circles with runic symbols in them are located at the vertices, and small ring at the very center of the pentagram. There are also runic writings within the space of the central and outer rings.

Louise took some time to admire her work. It's one of the most elaborate arrays she worked on and incorporated a lot of new things from the scroll. She is quite excited what she may summon or what will happen. She's quite confident it won't end in explosion, having been able to control the amount of willpower she is unconsciously placing into the spells.

"Ah! I see you're done with the preparations, Miss Valliere." She heard Colbert said behind her. She turned around to see the eccentric professor, in his usual light blue robe with white edge trimmings, walking towards her. Louise quickly frowned as she saw the professor not coming alone.

Walking slightly behind the professor are Kirche and Tabitha along with one young woman and two men chatting with each other. She also saw a few students following behind them, most likely curious what will happen. The professor noticed her facial reaction when he got closer and smiled sheepishly as he spoke.

"Forgive me, Miss Valliere. But Miss Zerbst is _quite_ insistent to observe your summoning ceremony. I told her this is merely an experi-…" He was cut off as Kirche spoke with a mixture of amusement and some enthusiasm.

"Oh come on now, Louise. It's been some time since I see you perform a ritual especially after you learned not to be so _explosive_ about them."

"Then why don't you _really close_ look." Louise gritted. "This is a very elaborate ritual array that I doubt you could understand." She patronized her with some irritation.

"It's a summoning array." Kirche answered confidently with a smile, much to Louise's aggravation. "Why else would you perform it here? Away from peering eyes."

"Uugh! Just shut up, you -!" Louise shouted and was about to throw a flurry of insults when she is cut off.

"Ladies, please!" Colbert called their attention which made the two stop and look at him. He sighed lightly before speaking up again. "This is an important experiment commissioned by the Headmaster since it uses new arcane aspects, discovered by one of his colleagues. So please refrain from aggravating each other, and concentrate on the task at hand."

This made some the students interested and had decided to stay and watch the ritual. They all knew Louise by reputation as the _former_ Zero but dared not speak of it in her presence especially behind her back. Lest they wish to found themselves blasted off their feet and thrown into the air.

"I'm sorry, Professor." Louise apologized while Kirche stayed silent.

"It's alright." Colbert replied as he waved his hand. "Now the Headmaster hasn't exactly told me what is exactly new to the ritual that you're going to use. So can you give me some of things you've implemented?"

Louise nodded and started explaining the various parts of the summoning array she had drawn into the stone platform.

"It's similar to various arrays that I've used for other spells but I've made changes with the geometric focus and the runic formulas. The figure of the geometric focus is designed to greatly empower the spell while keeping it contained within the array." She gestured to the pentagon enclosed star pentagram. She then continued explaining the rest of the array. "I've also intertwined the summoning spell with the new spell I've based on the Mysteries written in the scroll the Headmaster gave to me. The new spell is designed to connect into the … Great Beyond that is described to be the very realm where the stars dwell."

This got some reaction among the _audience_ as they started murmuring. It was known that the Great Beyond, or rather the Celestial Realm, is not for mortals, even mages like them, but it is not exactly Heaven where God, His Angels and the faithful resided. But it held great veneration in the Founder's Teachings and its association with the Void that prevented much arcane research into it as it borders desecration.

"That's… quite the spell you have there, Miss Valliere. But are you sure you should be using this spell?" Colbert asked worriedly, even the Kirche as shown on her face and Tabitha who is looking intently over her book. Attempting spells or performing any research that violates the sanctity of what the Church deemed as piety will surely incur the notice of the Inquisition Office of Romalia. Much care is needed in such endeavor.

"No need to worry, Professor. I've been careful with making the ritual and I've already checked it with the Headmaster. He saw nothing wrong with it after I've explained them like I did just now." Louise assured him. Inside, Louise really did became worried when she checked it earlier morning and was glad that the Headmaster approved of it. "In essence, the ritual will allow me to summon beings from other possible worlds to be my familiar."

"Now that would be interesting. A being form another world." Colbert replied with restored enthusiasm, apparently forgotten about the sacrilege issue. "Well without further ado you may proceed with the ritual, Miss Valliere."

Louise nodded and took out her personal wand from its holster, hidden behind her cloak. The wand is several inches long and made with arcane wood that is infused with her magical aura. The base handle is cladded in silvery metal and studded with two pairs of gemstones on both sides, and a ring-like hilt with engraved runes on it. The wand helped her to properly control her magic, thus preventing her spells from exploding, and fine tune her spells.

She faced the summoning array that she had drawn on the platform and took a deep breath as she prepared her thoughts for the ritual. She raised her wand and started drawing willpower from her aura. She felt the rather volatile energy of her magic as it coursed through her body and into the wand. She then proceeded to project her magic out of her wand as a small ball of energy formed at the tip. It then shot out towards the array which began to glow as the energy coursed through it.

Louise watched the empowered array as it glowed with white-indigo light and hummed for a few moments and is satisfied that it is working properly. She closed her eyes and proceeded to chant the incantations she had prepared for the ritual.

"_In the name of Pentagon of Elements… I, Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, call upon the powers of the Great Beyond."_

The wind starts to pick up as it slowly swirls around the summoning array.

"_I ask thee to grant me of my destined familiar that resides among the stars above our world."_

The wind had turned into a weak gust as it swirled around the array with more strength, and a small glowing sphere started growing over the array. Colbert watched with awe as he saw, and felt, the power that is being used in the ritual. Kirche is equally awed by the display of power, and baffled since this is the first time she had seen Louise reached this level of power. Tabitha had closed her book when the wind started to pick up, and watched the ritual intently behind her calm and unfazed look.

"_Come forth, and heed my summoning!"_

Louise poured more of her willpower into the array as she finished the incantations. The summoning array glowed more brightly and hummed louder. The sphere exploded in size with a muffled _whoomph_ and pushed away the swirling wind around the array. The wind instantly stopped to a standstill as if it never happened.

The now large sphere hovered above Louise's head as it hummed with power. Bright indigo fiery halo glowed around the sphere that looked like to be the blackest void she had ever seen. Louise shivered in awe and fear as she felt the power emanating from it.

* * *

The aura of the summoning spell shot out of the sphere as it headed towards its destination. It flew out the planet, then the solar system, and into the vast empty expanse between the stars. It travelled across the vast void of space, passed between planets and stars until it reached its destination. If it were capable of self-aware, it would have been shocked by the sight before it.

Floating in the void of space is a vast fleet of gargantuan vessels made of lustrous metal, shimmering under the light of the local system's sun. Smaller but still massive vessels fly in formation among their larger brethren like silent guardians. Even smaller flyer-like vessels zip around the formation like bees of a hive as they headed towards the larger ships.

The aura spell began its work of searching the being it is supposed to summon and flew around the behemoths. It soon sensed the destined one and sped towards it.

* * *

[A/N:]

Finally got this second chapter done. Sorry for the long wait as I needed to concentrate on the board exam which I passed.

Now you see the reason for the sci-fi category. Don't worry, the destined familiar won't be a warrior with vast array of weapons or skills, but one that can be described as a builder… in an advanced civilization.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

[1334 Anno Tellus]

THE VESUVIAN EXPANSE

VX-2KR System

It's a rather dull day as the Fleet-Nation of _August Intrepid_ serenely travels across the void of space in the star system they are currently exploring within this newly accessed region. The fleet-nation is composed in total of hundreds of vessels that function as their mode of transport, home to its inhabitants and sovereign realm of the fleet-nation's government. Among the hundreds of ships of August Intrepid, the real core of the fleet-nation are the dozen behemoths that the rest of the ships assembled around.

The first among them are the eight massive cityships with each home to hundreds of thousands. Cityships are massive cylindrically-shaped vessels with a curved nose that is longer at the top, and have blocky rear where their massive engines are located. Each cityship is around seven miles long, and over one and a half miles in diameter.

Next in line are the three even larger greatships with each home to over a million inhabitants. They are massive elliptical cylinders with wide curved delta wings that gave the vessel an overall arrow shape. A greatship is nearly eighteen miles long, over six and a half miles wide along its wingspan, and less than four miles tall.

Lastly is the gargantuan arkship _Regalia_ that served as the flagship of the Fleet-Nation and home to over two million people and as headquarters of the Sovereign Magistracy. The arkship is shaped like one massive cross with elliptical cross-section along its axis while tapering towards the end, and has a massive domes on the top and bottom sides at the intersection. It is the largest vessel within the August Intrepid being around thirty-six miles long, over thirteen miles across and over seven miles height.

The fleet-nation is currently heading towards the inner system to explore the habitable zone more closely while also sending other smaller ships to scout the rest of the system for resource prospecting. Life aboard the fleet-nation continue on as normal since travelling to unexplored regions of space and exploring new systems is not new to its inhabitants due to their nomadic lifestyle.

* * *

ABOARD THE CITYSHIP _RANKOR_

Amaron has just finished aligning the five torus-shaped superconductor coil assembly of the plasma torch that is set on the floor before him. He can see that the coils are lined true as shown on his HUD projected on his faceplate. He raised his right forearm which glowed dull neon blue as a vambrace-like projection formed around it and a gun-like tool in his open hands. He then _gripped_ the tool's _handle_ and pointed the muzzle at the braces of the coils. With a mental command, a short stream of energized nano-filaments shot towards the connection between the coils and the bracings. He efficiently and gently moved it along the connection, the nano-filaments weaving the two seamlessly together, until he completed half the bracing. He repeated it to the other coils on the same side before repeating the entire process on the other side. The entire process took him less than two minutes to finish. The projected tool then dematerialized, leaving only the glowing gauntlet, as he re-examined the alignment on his HUD.

"That should do it." He said with a nod of satisfaction, seeing they're still perfectly aligned, and stood up.

He wore his personalized Argon Exo-Frame which consisted of a dark gray single-piece suit, a helmet and silver gray plated body chassis. The helmet is fully enclosed with a black visor, tapering to the sides, circular disk on each side, a flat crested top that is sloped to the sides, and a thick box-like feature at the back. The body chassis consisted of a half segmented cuirass with solid plates for the upper torso and segmented bands for the rest , a pair of vambraces, shoulder pauldrons, hip and pelvis guard, greaves and plated boots.

He mentally accessed the functions of his _vis projector_ and quickly found what he needed with the speed of thought. He stood up and took a step back before pointing the palm of his left hand at the entire machine. The flat disk on his armored palm glowed white before a stream of white energy shot towards the compressor assembly and engulfed it in an energy field. He easily levitated the large machine off the floor and brought it towards one of the phased array processors in the facility.

As he got closer, he can see the others bringing in the rest of the machine's components, levitating them as he did. He reached one of the large ports at one side of the machine where the others are in the processing of installing the other coils and components. He guided his own coil assembly into a proper alignment with the tube in the slot before inserting it and locking it in place before ceasing the energy field. He then activated projector's multi-tool function to _weld_ the assembly, using the nano-filaments, with the interior of the slot.

He then worked with the others to connect the newly refitted processor to connect the torch slots with the plasma node located between it and the other processor. They used small magnetic tubes to connect the torch slots with the slots on the side of the plasma node that is directly facing them. They finished the connection in few short minutes and promptly cleared the area.

"Standby for activation." Said the operator as he began inputting the sequences on the interface screen of his console.

The massive machine hummed with life as energy coursed through its conduits and circuitry. Various green lights appeared on the console, indicating the systems of the machines are functioning normally, and proceeded with the second and final phase. Hot plasma is then allowed to flow from the node to the plasma torches which in turn energized the plasma to a higher temperature. The energized plasma surge into the ionization chamber where it bombarded the crushed pieces of scraps and raw ores, suspended in midair, and disintegrated them into heavy ions. A directional field collector on the other side of the chamber began drawing in the ionized mixture for segregation in the next chamber.

"All systems green." The operator said gladly before addressing them. "Good work and another job well done, everyone. We're done here." He then set the system on automatic.

Amaron cheered with the others at the announcement. They then go their separate ways towards the various wide archways of the facility. He first have to pick up a package before going home.

_She's going to love this one._ Amaron mentally said to himself as he thought of the gift safely stored in his micro-transmatter. He couldn't wait to give Nicole the gift once he got back aboard the _Entrea_.

He is currently walking along the pathways in Rankor's internal harbor towards the hangar bay where his own ship is located. He walks among the relatively small crowd of people, occasionally going stepping aside for passing yard workers and drones, until he reaches hangar bay Rho-6.

Inside the cavernous hangar bay is an array of personal ships of various designs. He walks past the other ships until he reaches his own ship, the _Proxima_, which is grounded to the platform with four landing pads under it.

The _Proxima_ is Jovian-class jumpship which is one of the many models of personal spaceships in the Sovereignty. It took him years to save up credits and to collect resources to finally have it build in a shipyard constructor. It is shaped like one large elongated arrowhead with thick stubby wings near the end. It has a length of one hundred thrity-five feet, nearly sixteen feet tall and a wingspan of fifty-nine feet. Most of the hull is colored gunmetal gray with distinct patches of platinum and magneta around the sides, and large symmetric pair of black patches at the top side.

He smiled at sight of the _Proxima_ which had been his home on the road, in a way, for several years since he left the _Aurum Gallantia_ and traveled to different hubs of known space before he settled down with the _August Intrepid_. He approached near the portside bow of his ship and had sent a signal towards the ship. A portion of the side then split open horizontally, and the split halves swung outward, revealing a sealed door inside, with the lower half extending to form a step ladder. He stepped up towards the door which then slid open before him, and entered into the spacious and mostly empty multi-purpose compartment. The door slid close behind him as soon as he entered before he heard the outer panels closing and sealed itself with a muffled thump. He turned left and headed towards the helm.

The helm is quite spacious despite its small size with its three small consoles around pilot's chair, and has a surround screen that arched halfway around him and above him. He sat on the pilot's chair and then pressed the button on the panel under the control handles that is attached to the central console. This activated the ship's systems as the consoles lit up and projected a few holo-screens, showing the status of the ship's different systems. The surround screen also lit up and showed him a full view around the bow of his ship.

He ran through the start-up sequence as he tapped in the commands into the consoles to boot the jumpship's major systems.

[Energy Reserve…. 91%]

[Neural Link established…]

[Activating Fusion Cores…]

He heard the humming sound of the fusion cores as they received energy for the start-up and pre-ignition charge. It took a few moments before the ignition began with a twin _whoosh_ and then a droning _whirr_ as highly energized plasma flowed out of the exhaust and into the plasma generators.

[Fusion Core 1…..…. Online]

[Fusion Core 2…..…. Online]

[Power Output…... Optimal at 60%]

[Energy Reserve….. 100%]

[Force Generator…. Online]

[Shield Generator…... Online]

[Plasma Thrusters…... On Standby]

[Warp Drive…. On Standby]

He checked the various readings shown on the holo-screens before the computer reported all of the systems are working properly. He then held onto the control handles and switched on propulsion's hover mode which activated the force generator's repulse function. He quickly felt the gentle sensation of his ship rising and have the landing pads retracted.

He turned the ship starboard towards the large opening of hangar bay where a translucent atmospheric barrier protected the hangar from the vacuum of the internal harbor. The plasma thrusters gently pushed the vessel as he guided the _Proxima_ towards the opening at a slow pace and soon passed through the barrier. The harbor is quite active even at this time of day with various ships going around, and the docking yards are packed with larger ships, including dozens of warships of the fleet-nation's defense force. He contacted the harbor control center as the _Proxima_ cleared away from the hangar bay.

"Rankor Harbor Control, this is _Proxima_ requesting permission to leave the harbor."

It took a few moments before he received a reply.

"_This is Rankor Harbor Control. You are clear to exit through Harbor Door C."_

"Thank you, Control. Much appreciated."

"_You're welcome, _Proxima_. And please be advised, we're detecting a small mobile anomaly within the vicinity."_

_An anomaly. And it's mobile._ Amaron thought it quite strange since he haven't heard of such. He then gave a reply. "Copy that, Control. I'll keep an eye on my sensors. _Proxima_ out."

"_Have a good flight."_

Amaron guided the _Proxima_ towards Harbor Door C that is located starboard side near the belly of _Rankor_ where a few ships can be seen either exiting or entering. The _Proxima_ cruised beside one of the larger industrial ships and soon exited through the harbor door. He continued moving straight for a few moments, putting some clearance between the _Proxima_ and the harbor door, before he broke away from the traffic and into the vast open space.

He increased the thrust output of the plasma thrusters and felt the acceleration as the _Proxima_ sped up. He did a few twist and turns to see if the systems are working as they should and get some adrenaline into him. He then leveled his flight path and headed towards direction of the _Entrea_ that is marked on the screen. He thought about the good relaxing time and getting to spend some time with Nicole.

His train of thoughts is interrupted as he received an alarm from one of the panels, and his neural link allowed him to sense the cause for alarm is coming in from portside-aft. A new holo-screen popped over the left console and showed a bright indigo sphere with a fiery aura along with various readings his sensors can detect. He soon received a signal from one of the nearby frigates of the defense force.

"_This is the _Nimbus. _Come in, _Proxima_. We're detecting the anomaly approaching fast to your position."_ Amaron quickly activated his comms and replied.

"This is the _Proxima_. My sensors just detected it a moment ago. I'll be moving out of its way."

The _Proxima_ turned hard right and increased speed to get clear from the anomaly's trajectory, expecting it to keep going in its earlier direction. But the anomaly easily adjusted its trajectory towards its intended target, much to the surprise of those observing it.

_What the?_ Amaron is alarmed when he sensed that the anomaly suddenly turned and is still heading towards him. _This can't be right. I have to get away fast._ He contacted the _Nimbus_ whose communications link is still active. "Nimbus, the anomaly is still on my six. I will have to speed around and try to shake it off."

"_Affirmative, we've already notified all nearby ships and command about the new situation. We'll keep close and observe."_ The comm-link is then disengaged, leaving Amaron alone with thoughts and worries.

_Here goes nothing._ He thought before he increased the output of the fusion drives and diverted more of the increased power to the plasma thrusters. The ship surged forward and accelerated away from the closing anomaly. Like before, the anomaly adjusted and matched the new acceleration as it continued to home in to the _Proxima_. The _Nimbus_ gave chase and released several drones to watch both the anomaly and the jumpship.

_Just what in hell is this?!_ Amaron is very alarmed when the anomaly easily matched his speed as he performed some twisting maneuvers in an effort to lose whatever is making it chase his ship. But all his attempts failed as the anomaly still continued to chase him and only succeeded in giving him more time. He then received a signal from the _Nimbus_ that alerted him to a _danger close _strike which can only mean one thing, and quickly have an acknowledgement sent.

As soon as he replied, his sensors alerted him to several missiles homing in to the anomaly. Flashes of light appeared behind the _Proxima_ as the missiles detonated within close proximity of the anomaly at point blank range. The flashes soon dissipated and revealed that the anomaly is not much affected. Few more flashes soon followed as a next salvo of missiles detonated with greater force, enough to affect his shields with minute damage.

"That's far too close for comfort, _Nimbus_!" Amaron alerted the frigate, feeling jittery under his suit.

"_We're doing what we can. Keep your distance as much as you can."_ The _Nimbus_ replied before pausing. _"Be advised, a disruption field generator has just been deployed ahead of you. Lure the anomaly there."_

_A disruptor!_ He is now more concerned. A spatial field disruptor is used to prevent any sort of FTL activity around it, and call pull vessels out of warp or prevent ships from jumping inside. Useful for defending places like a ship or station as it places a hostile vessel before armed defenses. But due to the nature of the disruption field, it can also damage ships within it and interfere with their speed, even more damaging for fast-moving vessels like his.

"How am I supposed to do that? I don't think my ship can last that long in the disruptor field!"

"_The disruptor is currently at low enough setting which should allow your jumpship to pass without getting too damaged."_ A short pause followed after the reply from the _Nimbus_. _"Try to get more to your shield and engines. They will try to catch the anomaly in a high strength disruptor field as soon as you cleared it. Hopefully it can destroy it."_

Amaron sighed in defeat as he knew he can't do much about the situation. He took a short moment to compose himself before replying. "Will do, _Nimbus_. I'll try to get more power for my ship. You better tell whoever is manning that disruptor to time it real good and do it fast. This is too much excitement for me to handle."

"_Copy that. Godspeed, _Proxima." The _Nimbus_ then disconnected and left Amaron to prepare his ship will keeping the anomaly at bay.

He increased the fuel input of the two fusion drives and diverted power from some non-essential systems. He used the additional power to strengthen his shield and integrity field. He then took some deep breathing as he focused his mind on the task ahead of him. He also engaged the seat strap and a U-shaped frame flipped from the back of the pilot seat and settled on his torso, keeping him in place.

He will have to keep firm control of his speed and flight path since even at low strength, the disruption field can really mess with his ship due to the turbulence it generates. From the looks of things, he also need to pass near the disruption generator itself to get more chance of slowing it down and catching it when the field switched to high strength. With the anomaly still closing in, he will have to go in real fast and hope that his piloting skills is enough to save his hide.

The _Proxima_ jumped at the sudden burst of speed as a twin trail of bright ions from its two main thrusters at the rear pushed the ship with greater force. He mildly felt the acceleration due to the inertial dampener field kicking in. The jumpship maintained a straight path towards the disruption field generator. The drones from the _Nimbus_ maintained formation as they followed the ship and anomaly as they raced ahead.

He kept watch of the range sensor which showed the numbers, indicating the distance between him and the field perimeter, rapidly decreasing. He steadied his nerves as he held tightly to the control handles.

_Here we go._ He can see the disruption field turbulence on his screen, graphically enhanced for easier navigation, ever coming closer. The spherical field is quite small when compared to what he had seen before in the archives. He can also sense the anomaly slowly catching up to him, giving him a very short window of opportunity.

The _Proxima_ dived into the field, keeping straight for a few moments, as it continued to plow through with the anomaly quite close at his tail. Amaron felt the turbulence shaking his ship but kept it steady as much as he can. As soon as he passed the generator itself with the anomaly, slowing down due to the field, close behind him, the generator switched to a high strength field. Within a span of few moments, three things happened in quick succession.

The sudden increased in strength of the disruption field threw the _Proxima_ out of order like a ragdoll when turbulence knocked it out of its flight path. Various systems of the _Proxima_ malfunctioned and lost much of its power to the thrusters. The inertial dampener and reaction control quickly kicked in to stabilize the jumpship but at the cost of losing speed as it left the disruption field.

The anomaly is slowed down by the high strength disruption field but didn't waver much from its trajectory. It also still have enough power to pass through the field and hit the struggling _Proxima_. The _Proxima_ is then engulfed with bright indigo field which slowly stabilized its orientation.

Various alarms blared around him with computer alerting him to malfunction in different systems to his neural link and holo-screens. He is also alerted to the energy field that had now engulfed his ship, and activated the distress beacon. _Damn it._ He cursed as he struggled to get his ship into order. Another alarm blared as the sensors alerted him to a large hyperspace rift forming near him. _Oh crap!_

He focused on getting his propulsion back to order as auto-repair worked to fix whatever is causing the malfunction. The plasma thrusters kicked in just in time as a large oval portal opened near him. The _Proxima_ turned as the reaction thrusters pushed the bow, pointing it away from the portal, and the main thrusters struggled to push against the field that is now pulling the ship towards the portal.

"Mayday! Mayday! I'm being pulled in!" He called out, scared for his life, through his communication system. He received a number of replies including from the _Nimbus_ that had been assisting him since the anomaly chased him.

"_Hang on! We're coming in!"_

"_Get the tugs *static* -he _Proxima_! Get hi- *static* out of there!"_

"_Sher- *static* Ho- *static* -et it traced!"_

Several tugs and drones closed in on his position, racing against time. But with an unexpected strength, the _Proxima_ is pulled into the portal like a stretched rubber band that is released into the air. The portal closed as soon as the _Proxima_ passed through, leaving only an empty space aside from the drones and small vessels that arrived too late.

* * *

[Region: Unknown]

[System: Unknown]

Amaron can only see blackest of black as the surround screen showed him the vast empty void he is currently in. His sensors is not detecting any star wherever he is, but it still told him that the energy field is active and is currently pulling his ship. He only have few power to deliver to the thrusters due to the effects of the disruption field earlier, and he still have enough energy charge for his shield and integrity field but they can only be used for a short time.

His last thought before he is pulled into portal is of Nicole that he should have been spending time with. He vowed to the Light that he will return home and make sure to give whoever caused this a piece of his mind.

His trip through the empty void lasted only a few moments before the ship's sensors told him that they're currently heading to another portal, similar to the one he entered. He prepared himself for the inevitable and prayed that he would survive this event.

The _Proxima_ entered the portal and exited into the blue sky, much to his surprise. He can see a vast greenish land with forests and hills around, and several mountains from afar. He only have a few moments to enjoy the view before he felt the sensation of falling and the vibration as the ship plowed through the atmosphere at high speed. He nearly forgot that the force generator is offline which should have kept his ship aloft.

He engaged the airbrakes to slow him down and kept his nose point away from the ground. The plasma thrusters are engaged to keep his speed manageable. He knew he will be coming in hard so he will have to make his ship to hit the ground at an angle and plow through the soft dirt, limiting the damage to his ship once the shield is knocked out.

Within a few seconds, the _Proxima_ slammed into the ground, jarring Amaron in his seat, and plowed through ground, sending dirt into the air and digging a trench. He saw a stone wall ahead of him and braced himself for the impact. The force of the impact nearly threw him forward, if it weren't for the strap frame that he activated earlier, when the _Proxima_ crashed into the stone wall which exploded into a shower of shattered masonry. The crashed stopped the jumpship to a halt and settled over the messy pile of rocks.

_Uugghh…_ Amaron isn't feeling quite well with the jarring shake he had just received from the crash. The surround screen is currently offline as the system struggled to get itself operational. This left him unaware of robe-wearing inhabitants and armor-wearing guards heading towards the crashed _Proxima_.


End file.
